Suspected Fulani militias reportedly launched a deadly assault on Mandung-Mushu and Kopnanle villages in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, resulting in the tragic deaths of approximately 10 individuals.

Confirming the attack on Saturday, the Chairman of Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard, Barr Farmasum Fuddang, told journalists that the incident happened on the night of Friday, April 12.

He said: “Under the cover of darkness, more than fifty armed terrorists descended upon the villages of Mandung-Mushu and Kopnanle, targeting innocent, unarmed, and peaceful residents as they slept. The assailants set fire to homes and a place of worship, mercilessly gunning down fleeing civilians while nearby soldiers failed to intervene effectively.

“This brazen attack, which predominantly targeted children, appears to be part of a calculated effort to instil fear and perpetrate further displacement within our communities.”

The chairman strongly denounced the act of terrorism, asserting that it is part of a larger scheme to enforce sharia law and take over their territory.

He clarified that BCDC Vanguard had recently filed a petition with the Department of State Services (DSS) disputing a leaked memo which wrongly accused their community of plotting violence against Fulani settlers.

The chairman emphasized that they firmly denied the validity of the intelligence in the memo, labelling it as false and slanderous.

According to him, “Despite our efforts to rectify these falsehoods, the security apparatus failed to protect our community from the very threats we highlighted. We are appalled by the apparent prioritization of the lives of Fulani residents over our own and demand answers from the authorities.”

The sequence of events, with the attack occurring shortly after the DSS issued a false alert about a potential assault on Fulani communities, has sparked significant apprehension regarding possible collaboration or intentional oversight.

We cannot tolerate such unfairness and insist on prompt transparency and accountability.

“This is more so that advance notices of attack in the area were published and circulated at least a week prior to the so-called DSS intelligence. The DSS ignored these warnings and instead chose to implicate the victims despite acknowledging in their memo that the Fulani were responsible for the six-day attack that claimed over 300 of our members last Christmas,” Daily Post quoted Fuddang saying.

The council officially stated that the DSS alert mirrors the well-known tactic of the Fulani terrorists, who frequently use false alarms to scare residents and validate their attacks.

They emphasized that unless the DSS addresses this issue, they believe the agency is involved and influenced.

“Should the authorities fail to provide satisfactory explanations within the shortest possible time, we are prepared to pursue legal recourse. Enough is enough—we will not allow our people to be targeted and vilified while those responsible for our safety turn a blind eye,” Fuddang stressed.